One north London library will be celebrating National Libraries Day more than others today.

Friern Barnet has defied the odds and become Britain's first People’s Library. It was shut last April because of council funding cuts, but has officially reopened its doors this week, after a campaign lasting five months.

Frances Briers uses the service often. Her husband suffers from leukemia, and the library provides an escape.

She said: "Just so I can get away from the hussle and bussle of life and talk to healthy people, have a bit of rest, respite, read the book, read the paper, and get away from everyday life, really."

She was devastated when it shut suddenly last year.

"I couldn't believe it. We had been to the council meetings, petitions, lobbied everyone to try and save it and it was shocking that we felt that no-one was listening to us."

The Occupy campaign group moved into the building in September. Activists slept there every night and together with local residents kept services running on a voluntary basis, while well-wishers donated thousands of books.

Campaigners in Friern Barnet have fought to keep their library open

Local rabbi Jeffrey Newman joined the campaign. He said: "There was a real outburst, there was a real outcry. People felt that something they'd just taken for granted and that they cared about had just been taken away."

This week Barnet Council agreed various community organisations could take over the premises for the next two years.

Pat Caplan, one of the library's trustees, said: "I think it shows if you're really determined enough you can make a difference, you can win a little battle even if you can't win the war, and try to do something about preserving a public asset."

This is an exception, as 201 libraries closed in the UK between 2010 and 2012, leaving 4,265 open.

Visits to libraries also dropped 2.4% to 306.6 million in the year to March 2012, according to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Hundreds of events are planned across the UK to mark National Libraries Day, and people are being encouraged to go out and borrow a book.